At Wit's End, the world premiere musical about the founding of The New Yorker and the wits of the Algonquin Round Table, won the 2001 Carbonell Award for Best New Work at the Nov. 19 ceremony honoring the best of South Florida Theatre.

Blake Hammond and Kathy Santen (seated) and Sean Grennan in the musical, At Wit's End.Photo by Photo by Susan Green

At Wit's End, the world premiere musical about the founding of The New Yorker and the wits of the Algonquin Round Table, won the 2001 Carbonell Award for Best New Work at the Nov. 19 ceremony honoring the best of South Florida Theatre.

The new musical, written by Chicago collaborators Cheri Coons (book and lyrics) and Michael Duff (music) was produced by Florida Stage, and also took home Carbonells for Best Actor in a Musical (Blake Hammond, who played Alexander Woolcott) and Best Musical Director (Craig D. Ames).

Playbill On-Line has learned that the writers are in discussions with Northlight Theatre in Skokie, IL, for the possible Midwest premiere of the sophisticated musical, set in the Algonquin Hotel and centering on machinations by Alexander Woolcott.

The Actors' Playhouse staging of Violet was one of the big Carbonell winners Monday night at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale. The Jeanine Tesori Brian Crawford musical about a disfigured girl's spiritual odyssey, won in the musical categories of Best Musical, Director, Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actor.

Florida Stage's The Music Lesson won Best Production of a Play, Best Director (co-directors Louis Tyrrell and Mark Lynch) and Actress (Jessica K. Peterson). Dan Lauria won the Best Actor in a Play award for playing one of two sparring brothers in Coconut Grove Playhouse's revival of Arthur Miller's The Price.

The Best Ensemble Award went to Caldwell Theatre Company's The Laramie Project, which also won in the lighting and sound design categories.

Special awards went to arts executive and philanthropist Rhoda Levitt (The Howard Kleinberg Award, for special contributions to the development of the arts in South Florida), actress and producer Jan McArt and the late director Bob Bogdanoff (the Ruth Foreman Award, for contributions to South Florida theatre), and designer Kenneth N. Kurtz, a longtime professor designer at the University of Miami theatre department (the Bill Hindman Award for long-term achievement).

The George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts went to Christine Dolen, theatre critic of The Miami Herald.

Best New Work (award to author):As Fate Would Have It, by Tony Finstrom, Footlights Inc.At Wit's End, book and lyrics by Cheri Coons, music by Michael Duff, Florida StageKaren, by Leonard David Berkowitz, Coconut Grove Playhouseland/audiovideo, by Michael John Garces, Juggerknot Theatre Company.

Best Production of a Musical (award to producer):At Wit's End, Florida StageThe Devil's Music, Florida StageEvita, The Actors' PlayhouseFiddler on the Roof, Hollywood PlayhouseViolet, The Actors' Playhouse